‘Pride of Chennai rides with you’: Fans cheer MS Dhoni's return as CSK captain after Ruturaj Gaikwad's injury

MS Dhoni, the charismatic captain who led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five IPL titles, returns as captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the regular captain, has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League 2025 due to a fractured elbow. Stephen Fleming, the head coach of CSK, revealed the news during a press conference ahead of tomorrow's match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Here is a look at social media reactions

One user observed that MS Dhoni is the first uncapped player to lead an IPL side, at the age of 43.

Another user welcomed their favourite hero with open arms. 

The third user is a bit measured with his views, mentioning the bowling and batting issues, which have hampered the team throughout the season.

MS Dhoni's captaincy record

MS Dhoni has captained in 226 IPL matches, easily the most by a captain. Dhoni captained CSK in every season, except IPL 2024. Dhoni took over the captaincy from Ravindra Jadeja after 8 matches in IPL 2022.

Dhoni as captain for CSK: Matches - 212, Wins - 128, Win Percentage - 61%

Titles - 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023

Dhoni is the first captain to successfully defend the title, doing it in 2011.

Who's going to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad?

MS Dhoni is certainly an upgrade over Ruturaj Gaikwad in terms of captaincy. But replacing Ruturaj the batter is going to be a big headache for CSK, and this user has thrown a few options.

This one wishes for a speedy recovery for Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Chennai Super Kings' form

CSK started the season with an assured win against their biggest rivals, Mumbai Indians. However, the victory against MI on day 2 of the season remains their sole win. CSK lost to RCB for the first time since 2010 in Chennai and to DC for the first time since 2015 in Chennai. They also lost two away games, to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings.

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